Iraq crisis: Key developments

By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN

Updated 2257 GMT (0557 HKT) June 28, 2014

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Turkish mourners grieve over a coffin during a funeral ceremony in Gaziantep on Tuesday, July 21, for the victims of a suspected ISIS suicide bomb attack. That bombing killed at least 31 people Monday, July 20, in Suruc, a Turkish town that borders Syria. Turkish authorities have blamed the terror group for the attack.

Hide Caption

1 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Protesters turn out with anti-ISIS banners and flags to show support for victims of the Suruc suicide blast during a demonstration July 20 in Istanbul.

Hide Caption

2 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

People in Ashmoun, Egypt, carry the coffin for 1st Lt. Mohammed Ashraf, who was killed when the ISIS militant group attacked Egyptian military checkpoints on Wednesday, July 1. At least 17 soldiers were reportedly killed, and 30 were injured.

Hide Caption

3 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Syrians wait near the Turkish border during clashes between ISIS and Kurdish armed groups in Kobani, Syria, on Thursday, June 25. The photo was taken in Sanliurfa, Turkey. ISIS militants disguised as Kurdish security forces infiltrated Kobani on Thursday and killed "many civilians," said a spokesman for the Kurds in Kobani.

Hide Caption

4 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Residents examine a damaged mosque after an Iraqi Air Force bombing in the ISIS-seized city of Falluja, Iraq, on Sunday, May 31. At least six were killed and nine others wounded during the bombing.

Hide Caption

5 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

People search through debris after an explosion at a Shiite mosque in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, May 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to tweets from ISIS supporters, which included a formal statement from ISIS detailing the operation.

Hide Caption

6 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Iraqi soldiers fire their weapons toward ISIS group positions in the Garma district, west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, on Sunday, April 26. Pro-government forces said they had recently made advances on areas held by Islamist jihadists.

Hide Caption

7 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A member of Afghanistan's security forces stands at the site where a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up in front of the Kabul Bank in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on April 18. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosion killed at least 33 people and injured more than 100 others, a public health spokesman said.

Hide Caption

8 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Iraqi counterterrorism forces patrol in Ramadi on April 18. Iraqi special forces maintained control of the provincial capital after days of intense clashes with ISIS left the city at risk.

Hide Caption

9 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Thousands of Iraqis cross a bridge over the Euphrates River to Baghdad as they flee Ramadi on Friday, April 17.

Hide Caption

10 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Yazidis embrace after being released by ISIS south of Kirkuk, Iraq, on Wednesday, April 8. ISIS released more than 200 Yazidis, a minority group whose members were killed, captured and displaced when the Islamist terror organization overtook their towns in northern Iraq last summer, officials said.

Hide Caption

11 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Kurdish Peshmerga forces help Yazidis as they arrive at a medical center in Altun Kupri, Iraq, on April 8.

Hide Caption

12 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A Yazidi woman mourns for the death of her husband and children by ISIS after being released south of Kirkuk on April 8.

Hide Caption

13 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

People in Tikrit inspect what used to be a palace of former President Saddam Hussein on April 3.

Hide Caption

14 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

On April 1, Shiite militiamen celebrate the retaking of Tikrit, which had been under ISIS control since June. The push into Tikrit came days after U.S.-led airstrikes targeted ISIS bases around the city.

Hide Caption

15 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Iraqi security forces launch a rocket against ISIS positions in Tikrit on Monday, March 30.

Hide Caption

16 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

The parents of 19-year-old Mohammed Musallam react at the family's home in the East Jerusalem Jewish settlement of Neve Yaakov on Tuesday, March 10. ISIS released a video purportedly showing a young boy executing Musallam, an Israeli citizen of Palestinian descent who ISIS claimed infiltrated the group in Syria to spy for the Jewish state. Musallam's family told CNN that he had no ties with the Mossad, Israel's spy agency, and had, in fact, been recruited by ISIS.

Hide Caption

17 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Iraqi Shiite fighters cover their ears as a rocket is launched during a clash with ISIS militants in the town of Al-Alam, Iraq, on Monday, March 9.

Hide Caption

18 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Displaced Assyrian women who fled their homes due to ISIS attacks pray at a church on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, March 1. ISIS militants recently abducted at least 220 Assyrians in Syria.

Hide Caption

19 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Safi al-Kasasbeh, right, receives condolences from tribal leaders at his home village near Karak, Jordan, on Wednesday, February 4. Al-Kasasbeh's son, Jordanian pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh, was burned alive in a video that was recently released by ISIS militants. Jordan is one of a handful of Middle Eastern nations taking part in the U.S.-led military coalition against ISIS.

Hide Caption

20 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A Kurdish marksman looks over a destroyed area of Kobani on Friday, January 30, after the city had been liberated from the ISIS militant group. The Syrian city, also known as Ayn al-Arab, had been under assault by ISIS since mid-September.

Hide Caption

21 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Kurdish people celebrate in Suruc, Turkey, near the Turkish-Syrian border, after ISIS militants were expelled from Kobani on Tuesday, January 27.

Hide Caption

22 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Collapsed buildings are seen in Kobani on January 27 after Kurdish forces took control of the town from ISIS.

Hide Caption

23 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Junko Ishido, mother of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, reacts during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, January 23. ISIS would later kill Goto and another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa.

Hide Caption

24 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

ISIS militants are seen through a rifle's scope during clashes with Peshmerga fighters in Mosul, Iraq, on Wednesday, January 21.

Hide Caption

25 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

An elderly Yazidi man arrives in Kirkuk after being released by ISIS on Saturday, January 17. The militant group released about 200 Yazidis who were held captive for five months in Iraq. Almost all of the freed prisoners were in poor health and bore signs of abuse and neglect, Kurdish officials said.

Hide Caption

26 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Smoke billows behind an ISIS sign during an Iraqi military operation to regain control of the town of Sadiyah, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, on Tuesday, November 25.

Hide Caption

27 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Fighters from the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish People's Protection Units join forces to fight ISIS in Kobani on Wednesday, November 19.

Hide Caption

28 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A picture taken from Turkey shows smoke rising after ISIS militants fired mortar shells toward an area controlled by Syrian Kurdish fighters near Kobani on Monday, November 3.

Hide Caption

29 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Iraqi special forces search a house in Jurf al-Sakhar, Iraq, on Thursday, October 30, after retaking the area from ISIS.

Hide Caption

30 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

ISIS militants stand near the site of an airstrike near the Turkey-Syria border on Thursday, October 23. The United States and several Arab nations have been bombing ISIS targets in Syria to take out the militant group's ability to command, train and resupply its fighters.

Hide Caption

31 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Kurdish fighters walk to positions as they combat ISIS forces in Kobani on Sunday, October 19.

Hide Caption

32 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Heavy smoke rises in Kobani following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on October 18.

Hide Caption

33 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Cundi Minaz, a female Kurdish fighter, is buried in a cemetery in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc on Tuesday, October 14. Minaz was reportedly killed during clashes with ISIS militants in nearby Kobani.

Hide Caption

34 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Kiymet Ergun, a Syrian Kurd, celebrates in Mursitpinar, Turkey, after an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition in Kobani on Monday, October 13.

Hide Caption

35 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Alleged ISIS militants stand next to an ISIS flag atop a hill in Kobani on Monday, October 6.

Hide Caption

36 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A Kurdish Peshmerga soldier who was wounded in a battle with ISIS is wheeled to the Zakho Emergency Hospital in Duhuk, Iraq, on Tuesday, September 30.

Hide Caption

37 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Syrian Kurds wait near a border crossing in Suruc as they wait to return to their homes in Kobani on Sunday, September 28.

Hide Caption

38 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A elderly man is carried after crossing the Syria-Turkey border near Suruc on Saturday, September 20.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters fire at ISIS militant positions from their position on the top of Mount Zardak, east of Mosul, Iraq, on Tuesday, September 9.

Hide Caption

41 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Displaced Iraqis receive clothes from a charity at a refugee camp near Feeshkhabour, Iraq, on Tuesday, August 19.

Hide Caption

42 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Aziza Hamid, a 15-year-old Iraqi girl, cries for her father while she and some other Yazidi people are flown to safety Monday, August 11, after a dramatic rescue operation at Iraq's Mount Sinjar. A CNN crew was on the flight, which took diapers, milk, water and food to the site where as many as 70,000 people were trapped by ISIS. But only a few of them were able to fly back on the helicopter with the Iraqi Air Force and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

Hide Caption

43 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Thousands of Yazidis are escorted to safety by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and a People's Protection Unit in Mosul on Saturday, August 9.

Hide Caption

44 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Thousands of Yazidi and Christian people flee Mosul on Wednesday, August 6, after the latest wave of ISIS advances.

Hide Caption

45 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A Baiji oil refinery burns after an alleged ISIS attack in northern Selahaddin, Iraq, on Thursday, July 31.

Hide Caption

46 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

A Syrian rebel fighter lies on a stretcher at a makeshift hospital in Douma, Syria, on Wednesday, July 9. He was reportedly injured while fighting ISIS militants.

Hide Caption

47 of 48

The ISIS terror threat48 photos

Children stand next to a burnt vehicle during clashes between Iraqi security forces and ISIS militants in Mosul on Tuesday, June 10.

Hide Caption

48 of 48

Story highlights

Russian fighter jets arrive in Iraq, defense ministry says

Iraqi warplanes target militants building a dam to block the Euphrates River

Tribal leaders sided with Iraqi forces after ISIS actions, official tells station

Both Islamist militants and the Iraqi military went on the offensive Saturday, trying to delivering crippling blows in a conflict that -- at least now -- doesn't appear anywhere close to a conclusion.

Below are some key developments from Iraq over the course of Saturday:

Iraq gets fighter jets from Russia

Five Russian Sukhoi fighter jets arrived Saturday in Iraq, the first of 25 warplanes expected to be delivered under a contract agreed to by Moscow and Baghdad, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement provided to CNN.

The announcement follows an interview given by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to British broadcaster BBC that ISIS advances may have been avoided if Iraq had proper air cover in the form of fighter jets that Iraq has been trying to secure from the United States for some time.

"I'll be frank and say that we were deluded when we signed the contract" with the United States, al-Maliki told the BBC in an interview this week that was released early Friday.

Iraq has now turned to Russia and Belarus to buy fighter jets, he said. "God willing, within one week, this force will be effective and will destroy the terrorists' dens," he said.

Al-Maliki's statements about the need for air support come as American and Arab diplomats tell CNN that the United States is unlikely to undertake any military strikes against ISIS and its allied fighters before a new government is formed in Iraq.

ISIS attacks military base

Militants believed to be ISIS fighters attacked an Iraqi military base south of Baghdad on Saturday, killing seven soldiers and wounding 29, security officials told CNN.

The ongoing battle began in the early morning hours at a military base in Jurf al-Sakhar, on the outskirts of Hilla, where an infantry brigade is based, they said.

Iraqi security forces have requested air and ground support, the officials say.

The attack at the base near Hilla, about 85 kilometers (about 52 miles) south of Baghdad, follows news earlier this week of an attack in the same area on an Iraqi convoy transporting prisoners.

Citing testimony from displaced villagers, the rights group said the attacks on the Shiite Turkmen villages of Guba and Shireekhan took place during a three-day rampage that began on June 23.

ISIS ordered 950 families from the villages, which sit about five kilometers outside of Mosul, to leave, according to nine displaced residents, two local activists and local journalists, according to the rights group.

At least 40 Shiite Turkmen were abducted by ISIS fighters, the villagers said, according to the group.

The displaced villagers claim those who stayed behind in Guba and Shireekhan, all Sunni, told them that ISIS had killed at least some of the abducted men, Human Rights Watch reported. However, none of villagers had seen bodies nor could they provide other information.

"The ISIS rampage is part of a long pattern of attack by armed Sunni extremists on Turkmen and other minorities," said Letta Tayler, senior terrorism and counterterrorism researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The villages were initially seized by ISIS on June 10, during their advance on Mosul.

Tal Afar attacks

Human Rights Watch also is reporting that ISIS destroyed seven Shiite places of worship June 25-26 in Tal Afar, 50 kilometers west of Mosul. The report did not say whether these were mosques.

The rights group estimates 90% percent of Tal Afar's ethnic minority Shiite Turkmen population has fled since ISIS seized.

Tal Afar was once a mixed city made up of Sunnis, Shiites and Turkmen. But most of its Sunni population fled during the height of the sectarian fighting during the Iraq War.

After ISIS attacked the city this month, most of its Shiite Turkmen population fled to the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Iraqi air force strikes Mosul, Anbar province

The Iraqi air force carried out airstrikes on several ISIS locations within the city of Mosul on Saturday, a senior military official told CNN.

The airstrikes targeted four locations inside Iraq's second-largest city, including ISIS headquarters, said Mazen al-Safaar, a traffic director in Mosul.

The health administration building and old city's shopping district were hit, as well, according to Dr. Salaheldin al-Naimi, the director of the health administration.

At least seven civilians were killed and two wounded in the airstrikes, al-Naimi said.

Iraq's air force also carried out an airstrike targeting ISIS fighters building an earthen dam to block the Euphrates River in Anbar, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Kurds tighten border controls

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Saturday tightened restrictions on the border crossings used by Iraqis fleeing from extremist militants and airstrikes in the northern city of Mosul.

Renewed conflict in the city, located about 420 kilometers (260 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad, forced many more to flee -- but it is unclear what options they have left.

They were initially barred Saturday by the Kurdish fighting force -- known as the Peshmerga -- from entering the region through checkpoints.

But that was lifted later in the day.

The Peshmerga allowed families from Mosul to enter the Kurdish region, but only after undergoing security and background checks, two Kurdish security officials told CNN.

They also must have a sponsor who lives in the region, they said.

This move comes two days after a suicide car bomb struck a checkpoint manned by Kurdish forces in Kolchali, northeast of Mosul, according to Kurdish security forces in Erbil.

At least one Kurdish security officer was killed and 15 other people were wounded in that incident, security forces said.

Fight for Tikrit

State media and a local tribal leader reported Saturday that Iraqi forces had retaken the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown.

Sheikh Khamis al-Joubouri, a key tribal leader in Tikrit, told CNN that the Iraqi security forces entered the city supported by special forces and fighters from among the local tribes, and had gained control.

He said ISIS fighters retreated in the direction of Kirkuk and Nineveh provinces.

However, a combatant told a CNN freelance reporter that ISIS fighters remained in control of Tikrit even as there are fierce clashes in an area about 20 kilometers from the city center, toward Samarra.

State-run Iraqiya TV reported that the Iraqi army and volunteer militia groups had cleared ISIS fighters from the city, having advanced on the city from four directions.

Sabah Numan, a counterterrorism unit spokesman, told the station that 120 militants had been killed and 20 vehicles destroyed in a large-scale operation that began Saturday morning.

He did not provide any evidence of the claim, and CNN cannot independently confirm the reports.

Al-Joubouri said that the tribes were not aligned with the government or with ISIS and had stayed out of the fight until now.

But, he said, when ISIS fighters who arrived in Tikrit robbed banks and carried out executions -- not to mention brought the local economy to a standstill -- the tribal leaders offered their help to the Iraqi security forces positioned outside the city. The tribal leaders shared their knowledge of the city, including routes and known ISIS positions, he said.